2 Finalists Named for Monitoring of LAPD Reforms

Two out-of-town firms are finalists for the job of monitoring reforms at the Los Angeles Police Department, officials said Wednesday.

They are New York-based Kroll Associates, which oversaw the recent controversial Teamsters election, and Public Management Resources of San Antonio, which tracked the progress of reforms in the Pittsburgh Police Department, the Steubenville, Ohio, police and the New Jersey State Police.

The Los Angeles negotiating team’s first choice was a proposed Kroll team that includes former New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton, according to city hall sources.

The U.S. Department of Justice must also agree to the choice of the monitor, and officials there could not be reached for comment. Finally, the choice of the monitor must be approved by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, who is overseeing LAPD reforms covered in a federal consent decree.

“They are both outstanding firms and would do a remarkable job,” said former Police Commission President Gerald Chaleff, a member of the city negotiating team.

The U.S. Department of Justice threatened to sue the city of Los Angeles over what it alleged was a pattern and practice of police misconduct. The monitor is to oversee reforms, some of them stemming from the Rampart corruption investigation, which the city and the LAPD have agreed to implement.

Reforms contained in the consent decree include creation of a new LAPD unit to investigate officer-involved shootings, a boost in the powers of the Police Commission and inspector general, and installation of a computerized tracking system for police officer conduct cases.

Ron Deaton, the city council’s chief legislative analyst, said he hopes negotiations with the U.S. Justice Department will result in a final recommendation of one firm to the council Friday, just in time for a Monday court hearing before Feess.

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, head of the council’s Public Safety Committee, said she is concerned that the proposed contract includes duties and powers beyond those listed in the consent decree.

Deaton identified the finalists, selected from among 19 candidates, after several council members complained about being left out of the loop.

Councilman Joel Wachs threatened to vote against anyone Deaton recommends, saying the process is “flawed.”

“One of the tried and true tactics is to wait to the last minute and say, ‘This is it. Take it or leave it.’ I’m not happy with that.”

Deaton said he will present the council Friday with the name of the No. 1 recommendation jointly by the city and U.S. Department of Justice.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas warned Deaton to be prepared to ask the court for more time to work out a recommendation on the monitor if the council does not agree with the choice of the city negotiating team.

Public Management Resources was praised for being the monitor in the three other current federal consent decrees involving police agencies in the country.

Times staff writer Tina Daunt contributed to this story.